from the as-it-was dept
Five Years Ago
This week in 2020, USA Today published another inaccurate opinion piece against Section 230, misrepresenting the law. A district court rejected the center for Democracy & Technology’s (CDT) challenge to Trump‘s executive order concerning 230, and Trump appointed an unqualified individual opposed to Section 230 to a key Justice Department position. Lindsey Graham threatened to repeal Section 230 if it wasn’t reformed – a foreshadowing of the current attacks – while Brendan Carr, an FCC Commissioner, misrepresented the debate surrounding the law. Some smaller internet companies expressed openness to Section 230 reform simply to prevent Facebook from dominating the online space. Accusations also surfaced that the FCC wasted $9 billion to provide broadband to already-served, affluent areas and falsely inflated data regarding gigabit broadband availability.
Ten Years Ago
This week in 2015, the media was misled into suggesting encryption contributed to the san Bernardino attacks.Simultaneously, Congress abandoned any semblance of openness and transformed CISA into a extensive surveillance bill, posing a meaningful threat to privacy. Despite this, supporters of the bill claimed it was necessary to protect privacy.
Worth a look